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Milo & Jazz Mysteries #1
The Case of the Stinky Socks
The Milo & Jazz Mysteries stars two kid detectives-in-training who use STEM problem-solving skills as they race to unravel cases and save the day! Perfect for fans of Encyclopedia Brown , Cam Jansen and Nate the Great .
The high school’s star pitcher is missing his lucky socks, and his pitching is going to pieces! Can detective duo Milo and Jazz find the thief—before the big game? This ideal series for beginning readers making the transition to chapter books has incredible Super Sleuthing activities in each book, including hidden pictures, puzzles, mini-mysteries, and quizzes—plus free online activities.
The high school’s star pitcher is missing his lucky socks, and his pitching is going to pieces! Can detective duo Milo and Jazz find the thief—before the big game? This ideal series for beginning readers making the transition to chapter books has incredible Super Sleuthing activities in each book, including hidden pictures, puzzles, mini-mysteries, and quizzes—plus free online activities.
96 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2008
11 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
Lewis B. Montgomery
33 books7 followersA pseudonym of Mara Rockliff.
Series:
* Milo & Jazz Mysteries
Series:
* Milo & Jazz Mysteries
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
June 1, 2014
I'm fishing for transitional readers that don't put me in a slack-jawed Friday night daze. Not easy. This type of book is designed to have a simple vocabulary and plot, but frankly, choices are slim. I find many of the series boring and flat. Harpoon me an interesting character, a bit 'o humor, and some depth and I'm a happy gal. Milo & Jazz succeeds in these areas and I was pleasantly surprised by a good story.
Milo gets a spy kit at home and proceeds to try and figure it out in a klutzy way that is funny. He pokes fun at himself and then tries to spy on his family and a neighbor girl, named Jazz, that goes to his school. It's hard to be sneaky when you are clumsy. She outs him pretty fast and asks if he is playing spy or detective? Milo responds that he has a spy agency and she quickly comes up with an advertisement that includes herself in the agency slogan even though Milo never said she could join him. When Milo starts to protest, they hear Jazz's brother, Dylan, screaming and discover their first case that involves a pair of missing lucky socks. Jazz is a take charge person and comes up with a plan, but Milo doesn't want to hear any of it. This is his spy kit and his idea. Jazz is a bit too pushy and tells him she wants to be his partner and that he needs her brains. When she insults Milo by implying he is dumb, he is convinced that he really doesn't want an overbearing partner that tells him what to do. He wisely runs away from her.
Dylan is on a winning streak as pitcher for the Westview Wildcats baseball team. When he tells a local TV crew the reason for the wins is his lucky socks, they get stolen from his locker. The funny illustrations of reporters and opposing team members plugging their noses as Dylan shows off his smelly socks had me laughing. But more humorous is the poke at the superstitious athletes (particularly pitchers in baseball) that resort to superstitions to prolong winning streaks. I remember being grossed out by the Twin's pitcher that didn't wash his shirt when he was pitching well. And don't think this only happens in the United States. I was at a baseball game in Taiwan where a man led the crowd in cheers having us shout and stand. When a batter got a hit he would tell us we brought the team luck by standing up and we needed to stay standing. All in good fun, but some superstitious folks believe it. At work if someone wins a door prize the women from Taiwan will touch her for good luck. When you read aloud books over and over with kids I appreciate a story like this one that tosses in some adult humor.
When Milo tries to solve the mystery he makes mistakes and keeps adjusting to improve his skills; whereas, Jazz is smarter and more logical than Milo, but talks condescendingly to Milo making her unlikable. They struggle to become friends at first because they don't know how to work together and talk to each other. Milo makes quite a few missteps as he learns how to solve mysteries. This quality makes him very real and kids (and adults) will root for him as he perseveres with figuring out clues. When Milo pursues clues in the locker room and comes across the older boy, Chip, that's a tennis player putting mousse in his hair, readers will laugh at the play on words and self-centeredness of Chip.
Ethan, Milo's younger brother is annoying and funny. He pretends he's a dinosaur and is even more impulsive than Milo. When he bites the Wildcat mascot, Milo is the protective older brother and it is easy to see similarities in their crazy actions. When an older boy that is the school mascot chases after Ethan for biting him, he is not only mad at Milo's brother, but he's disappointed that his job of mascot has not let him meet cheerleaders. This addresses the mascots motivation for chasing Ethan rather than giving up after a bit. The mascot boy, Willie, is not only angry with Ethan, he's angry that his sole reason for being a mascot has not produced the results he wanted which was to meet girls. The mascot also leaves the first good clue to what might have happened to Dylan's socks.
Jazz comes back into the picture as she's been clue searching without Milo. She compliments him on his plan not realizing that he was hiding versus carrying out an actual plan. He doesn't tell her and thinks maybe she wouldn't be a bad partner. Whether she is conscious of her actions or not, she is more effective complimenting Milo than insulting him. It shows how to make friends and work as a team. As the two ferret out clues, it becomes clear that Chip is a big jock at the school with an even bigger ego. Chip seems a bit cartoonish in his stereotype of a narcissistic tennis player at the diner, but it still is funny. And you've gotta love Jazz. When Milo insults her purple notebook she has a nice comeback. These two are an unlikely pair but their love of adventures and mysteries seems enough to help them become friends. They have some rough patches but they keep learning how to work together and Milo is able to solve the mystery.
The mystery misleads the reader as to the culprit. There are enough clues to figure out the true villain, but it would take a detailed reader to figure it out. My adult brain thought that at one point I would have just bought a pair of identical socks and tossed them in the dumpster and told Dylan I'd found his socks. I know, what a spoil-sport. The lesson of believing in yourself and not substituting luck for mental toughness is worthwhile along with other themes that layer this short book: teamwork versus self-centeredness, friendship versus hurtful words, being annoyed with siblings versus protecting them, and so on. It is also nice that Jazz is from a different ethnic background. Like I said, if I can find a transitional reader with some nice depth and character development, I am hooked. Thanks for the heads up on this series Verna!
Milo gets a spy kit at home and proceeds to try and figure it out in a klutzy way that is funny. He pokes fun at himself and then tries to spy on his family and a neighbor girl, named Jazz, that goes to his school. It's hard to be sneaky when you are clumsy. She outs him pretty fast and asks if he is playing spy or detective? Milo responds that he has a spy agency and she quickly comes up with an advertisement that includes herself in the agency slogan even though Milo never said she could join him. When Milo starts to protest, they hear Jazz's brother, Dylan, screaming and discover their first case that involves a pair of missing lucky socks. Jazz is a take charge person and comes up with a plan, but Milo doesn't want to hear any of it. This is his spy kit and his idea. Jazz is a bit too pushy and tells him she wants to be his partner and that he needs her brains. When she insults Milo by implying he is dumb, he is convinced that he really doesn't want an overbearing partner that tells him what to do. He wisely runs away from her.
Dylan is on a winning streak as pitcher for the Westview Wildcats baseball team. When he tells a local TV crew the reason for the wins is his lucky socks, they get stolen from his locker. The funny illustrations of reporters and opposing team members plugging their noses as Dylan shows off his smelly socks had me laughing. But more humorous is the poke at the superstitious athletes (particularly pitchers in baseball) that resort to superstitions to prolong winning streaks. I remember being grossed out by the Twin's pitcher that didn't wash his shirt when he was pitching well. And don't think this only happens in the United States. I was at a baseball game in Taiwan where a man led the crowd in cheers having us shout and stand. When a batter got a hit he would tell us we brought the team luck by standing up and we needed to stay standing. All in good fun, but some superstitious folks believe it. At work if someone wins a door prize the women from Taiwan will touch her for good luck. When you read aloud books over and over with kids I appreciate a story like this one that tosses in some adult humor.
When Milo tries to solve the mystery he makes mistakes and keeps adjusting to improve his skills; whereas, Jazz is smarter and more logical than Milo, but talks condescendingly to Milo making her unlikable. They struggle to become friends at first because they don't know how to work together and talk to each other. Milo makes quite a few missteps as he learns how to solve mysteries. This quality makes him very real and kids (and adults) will root for him as he perseveres with figuring out clues. When Milo pursues clues in the locker room and comes across the older boy, Chip, that's a tennis player putting mousse in his hair, readers will laugh at the play on words and self-centeredness of Chip.
Ethan, Milo's younger brother is annoying and funny. He pretends he's a dinosaur and is even more impulsive than Milo. When he bites the Wildcat mascot, Milo is the protective older brother and it is easy to see similarities in their crazy actions. When an older boy that is the school mascot chases after Ethan for biting him, he is not only mad at Milo's brother, but he's disappointed that his job of mascot has not let him meet cheerleaders. This addresses the mascots motivation for chasing Ethan rather than giving up after a bit. The mascot boy, Willie, is not only angry with Ethan, he's angry that his sole reason for being a mascot has not produced the results he wanted which was to meet girls. The mascot also leaves the first good clue to what might have happened to Dylan's socks.
Jazz comes back into the picture as she's been clue searching without Milo. She compliments him on his plan not realizing that he was hiding versus carrying out an actual plan. He doesn't tell her and thinks maybe she wouldn't be a bad partner. Whether she is conscious of her actions or not, she is more effective complimenting Milo than insulting him. It shows how to make friends and work as a team. As the two ferret out clues, it becomes clear that Chip is a big jock at the school with an even bigger ego. Chip seems a bit cartoonish in his stereotype of a narcissistic tennis player at the diner, but it still is funny. And you've gotta love Jazz. When Milo insults her purple notebook she has a nice comeback. These two are an unlikely pair but their love of adventures and mysteries seems enough to help them become friends. They have some rough patches but they keep learning how to work together and Milo is able to solve the mystery.
The mystery misleads the reader as to the culprit. There are enough clues to figure out the true villain, but it would take a detailed reader to figure it out. My adult brain thought that at one point I would have just bought a pair of identical socks and tossed them in the dumpster and told Dylan I'd found his socks. I know, what a spoil-sport. The lesson of believing in yourself and not substituting luck for mental toughness is worthwhile along with other themes that layer this short book: teamwork versus self-centeredness, friendship versus hurtful words, being annoyed with siblings versus protecting them, and so on. It is also nice that Jazz is from a different ethnic background. Like I said, if I can find a transitional reader with some nice depth and character development, I am hooked. Thanks for the heads up on this series Verna!
April 29, 2011
I had somehow overlooked this great mystery series for emergent readers. After seeing it recommend in an article recently, I picked up book 1 and was pleasantly surprised. Great fun for the Easy Chapter book crowd as they try to solve the mystery of the missing lucky (but stinky!) socks along with Milo and Jazz! The humorous storyline and illustrations will also keep them interested and make them want to continue reading the series. To further stretch their sleuthing skills, mini-mysteries are added at the end of the book. Both boys and girls will enjoy these "detectives-in-training" and ask for more!
October 8, 2025
Well this book is about 2 kids named Milo & Jazz who want to be detectives. They find their first case when Jazz's brother can't find his lucky socks. He thinks somebody stole them. The 2 friends figure out the clues, find the suspects and solved the case. It was fun to read.
March 7, 2009
“The Case of the Stinky Socks” is an aromatic mystery that will be enjoyed by young readers that discover the Milo & Jazz Mysteries series recently introduced by the Kane Press.
The enjoyment is sure to last beyond the life of the book because the readers are exposed to some rather interesting illustrations that capture the investigative process. These illustrations, coupled with the activities at the end of the book prepare kids to seek out and unravel the mysteries in their own world.
The mystery itself is not easy to decipher before the conclusion; wrong paths are explored and hypotheses are revised. The simple language makes this little mystery accessible to all but the earliest readers.
The book would make a nice gift or addition to a classroom library where exposure to different types of literature is essential. Boys, girls and teachers will love the investigative strategies that apply scientific method in a school-based story.
5 of 5
John Parker
Media Coordinator
Andrews High School
50 HS Drive
Andrews, NC 28901
www.slamguy.wordpress.com
The enjoyment is sure to last beyond the life of the book because the readers are exposed to some rather interesting illustrations that capture the investigative process. These illustrations, coupled with the activities at the end of the book prepare kids to seek out and unravel the mysteries in their own world.
The mystery itself is not easy to decipher before the conclusion; wrong paths are explored and hypotheses are revised. The simple language makes this little mystery accessible to all but the earliest readers.
The book would make a nice gift or addition to a classroom library where exposure to different types of literature is essential. Boys, girls and teachers will love the investigative strategies that apply scientific method in a school-based story.
5 of 5
John Parker
Media Coordinator
Andrews High School
50 HS Drive
Andrews, NC 28901
www.slamguy.wordpress.com
July 20, 2009
A fun, easy-to-solve mystery, readily identifiable young detectives, and some extras readers will enjoy. The short chapters, written in a large typeface, are punctuated by pen-and-ink illustrations of better quality than those often seen in series books. Even kids who aren’t sports-oriented will enjoy flexing their detective skills here and in the second installment in the series, The Case of the Poisoned Pig. The story cleverly ends with new materials from Dash Marlowe, offering additional opportunities for armchair sleuthing.
January 2, 2021
We are enjoying this series! The mysteries are interesting and my 8 year old son is engaged, guessing what is going to happen or answering the questions they ask each other. The letters from Dash Marlow are helpful for increasing observation skills in real life. This is the first series that is more of a chapter book that he has been interested in, which I think is saying a lot! We will definitely continue to read the rest of the books.
April 1, 2019
This is a fun mystery. The characters are lively and opinionated. The action moves well. I like that the protagonists learn that despite the fact that they think and express themselves in different ways, they benefit from working together. I enjoyed the book and recommend it for young mystery lovers.
August 30, 2021
This was fun! I love reading mysteries with kids and my reading group in my Grade 4 class loved this one. None of us were able to predict the culprit until the end and I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I'd definitely read one of these with a group of kids again. Actual rating 3.5/5.
September 22, 2019
the best
October 26, 2019
this book is a great mystery book.
if you want to read a easy mystery book then read milo and jazz the case of the stinky sock
if you want to read a easy mystery book then read milo and jazz the case of the stinky sock
April 7, 2021
A quick mystery for 2nd/3rd graders. Fun logic puzzles and mysteries to solve at the end of the story as well.
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July 10, 2021Good for 3rd grade mystery unit. Good example of a book with “black people living” https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertai...
May 6, 2022
A charming mystery for young readers. Loved the extra puzzles to solve at the end. Cute characters, believable mystery and one young readers will have success solving.
September 20, 2024
This was cute!
June 8, 2017
The Radical Readers book club loved this mystery! They laughed at the stinky socks and enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery. They especially loved the extra puzzles at the end of the book! After talking about the book we made an invisible ink craft with crayons and watercolors!
Find this book at the Fox Lake Library: http://tlcweb.fllib.org:8080/?config=...
Find this book at the Fox Lake Library: http://tlcweb.fllib.org:8080/?config=...
October 8, 2011
This is the first book in a fun new series that teams up a boy (Milo) and a girl (Jazz) to solve mysteries. Although Milo is reluctant to join forces at first, he discovers that they work well together as a team. We liked the characters and the story, although it strayed a bit into high school boyfriend-girlfriend relationships, which is not really necessary for the intended audience. In any case, our girls were entertained and we loved the logic puzzles and brain teasers at the end of the book. We are looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Case of the Poisoned Pig.
I grew up reading the Encyclopedia Brown series and loved them. This series reminds me of those...
I grew up reading the Encyclopedia Brown series and loved them. This series reminds me of those...
December 10, 2013
This book was an accidental pick that I discovered while my 5-year-old and I were visiting our local suburban library. It was on a spinning rack of paperbacks and my son enjoyed the phrase, "stinky socks" in the subtitle. We checked it out and I read it to him over a few nights before bedtime.
Milo (a male) and Jazz (the female) are friends and detectives in training who like to solve cases together. Sometimes they call on the help of Dash Marlowe, a real-life private eye. In this story, Milo and Jazz set out to locate a missing baseball pitcher and his "lucky socks".
This was a quick and enjoyable read that was made even more satisfying because of the simple illustrations that occur every few pages. Additionally, there are some brain teasers and puzzles at the end of the book that can entertain a little one you might be reading this story to...
Milo (a male) and Jazz (the female) are friends and detectives in training who like to solve cases together. Sometimes they call on the help of Dash Marlowe, a real-life private eye. In this story, Milo and Jazz set out to locate a missing baseball pitcher and his "lucky socks".
This was a quick and enjoyable read that was made even more satisfying because of the simple illustrations that occur every few pages. Additionally, there are some brain teasers and puzzles at the end of the book that can entertain a little one you might be reading this story to...
October 17, 2011
The first book in this series is stronger because the characters have not sunk into a familar routine. Milo resents Jazz for assuming she's his dectective partner, but slowly realizes that she's got good ideas and a level-head. Also, she helps him find his first case.
I read one of the later books, and all friction is gone. I know these are uber-cozy 3-4th grade mysteries, but without some degree of interpersonal conflict, there's not much a story. Just solving the mystery feels flat. (to be fair, I am not a fan of mysteries, but still...)
Even though Watson was friends and roommates with Sherlock Holmes, they both still annoyed each another. And then they got over it as they solved the case.
I read one of the later books, and all friction is gone. I know these are uber-cozy 3-4th grade mysteries, but without some degree of interpersonal conflict, there's not much a story. Just solving the mystery feels flat. (to be fair, I am not a fan of mysteries, but still...)
Even though Watson was friends and roommates with Sherlock Holmes, they both still annoyed each another. And then they got over it as they solved the case.
August 25, 2013
Excellent introduction to mysteries for the age 7ish group, this gets an extra star for the puzzles in the back. This earned a rare 5 star rating from Nate, and an even rarer non-5 star review from Alex (4 stars because he doesn't like mysteries). Nate is excited to read more in the series and we spent a lot of time discussing motive - what it is, how you can use it to solve mysteries.
Dessert was ice cream for this book group meeting.
Dessert was ice cream for this book group meeting.
February 21, 2016
I thought this short chapter book was great! I personally loved reading mystery novels and solving different puzzles and such when I was younger (I still do) and I know that there are other children who enjoy the same things that I did. The story is relate-able because it discusses new friendships, exploring your interests, and learning through hands on experience. My favorite part about this book series is that at the end of each book, there are mysteries and puzzles for the reader to solve.
November 3, 2016
Fun easy reader chapter book. This is the first in the series. Love the voice and the humor (though I think there's even more humor in the subsequent titles). Jazz' brother's lucky socks are stolen, and it turns out the guy who replaced him as starting pitcher is the one who did it. Backwards mirror reading was a major clue.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2013
Transitional readers will enjoy this clever mystery about neighbors Milo and Jazz, who don't always get along but who work well together to figure out what happened to Jazz's brother's lucky socks. Although I wish the story had been told from Jazz's perspective instead of Milo's, this is a title I'd recommend to fans of Cam Jansen and other transitional mystery series.
March 19, 2018
Fun, mystery story about two young detectives, Milo and Jazz, who infiltrate a high school boys locker room to find Jazz's older brother's pair of missing socks. The setting doesn't seem particular modern (the teenagers hang out at the local malt shop, the head waitress is named Beulah); I see no reason why any of this will bother young chapter book readers.
October 30, 2013
Lexile Measure 500L.
Milo reluctantly decides to let Jazz partner with him to solve a case. Dylan, the baseball pitcher's stinky, lucky socks have been stolen. Milo and Jazz use their logical thinking and investigating skills to catch the thief.
This book is great for 2nd grade and teaching a lesson on investigating.
Milo reluctantly decides to let Jazz partner with him to solve a case. Dylan, the baseball pitcher's stinky, lucky socks have been stolen. Milo and Jazz use their logical thinking and investigating skills to catch the thief.
This book is great for 2nd grade and teaching a lesson on investigating.
November 27, 2017
The Milo & Jazz Mysteries provide new readers with likeable characters, easy-to-solve mysteries and clues to discover along the way. In this series opener, Milo is excited to get a kit from Dash Marlowe, Super Sleuth, but it takes the help of his new neighbor Jazz to figure out who’s taken the high school’s star pitcher’s lucky socks.
June 7, 2020
With the guidance of their favorite detective Dash Marlowe, Jazz and Milo uncover clues and solve the various mysteries that arise in their community. Reminiscent of Nate the Great and Encyclopedia Brown, this more modern mystery series will keep readers thinking and trying to solve the case before Milo and Jazz do.
July 12, 2012
I like the kids learning to be detectives and the use of logic to solve the case. I was kept guessing on this one. And I really enjoyed how they solved it. The puzzles at the back of the book were an added bonus. Great all the way around! I'll read more. :D
August 22, 2012
LOVED IT! Great kick-off for a 2nd-3rd grade mystery series. Mile and Jazz team up (against Milo's wishes at first) to solve a mystery, a disgusting mystery surrounding a pair of lucky and STINKY (P.U.) socks!
October 26, 2009
This is a series new to Kane Books similar to the Nate the Great, Cam Jansen, and other easy reader middle grade books. Most the readers I have selected them for are 2nd - 4th grade students.
November 28, 2009
A clever and fun mystery series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews